For a moment, it seemed as if not only their bodies but also their minds had become still. Afraid that Ferko might hear them, they left before anything could slip their thoughts and be heard by an outsider. Leaving the confused human behind, the siblings rushed to Iphrita’s tree house.

It was not a leisurely stroll; the two wolf ants ran as if they were chasing horned animals. They reached the scaled woman's home in no time. Storge tried to call out to Iphritta in her mind, but the tree remained silent. The anxious wolves whimpered, scratching at the bark of the trunk in hope that the stairs would appear. Their efforts paid off - a window appeared from the bark, and an annoyed-looking Iphrita looked out of it.

"Now what? Why are you so noisy?"

'My thoughts! Something’s wrong with my thoughts!' exclaimed Storge.

'No, tell her about human first! It’s the strange human!' interrupted her brother.

"Hush!" the scaled woman grumbled at the wolves. "Not all at once."

Hailstone whimpered and stared at her. 'Oh no! Can you hear me too? What’s happening?!'

"Quit your fretting," Iphrita looked at the soldier wolf with all three eyes. "I could hear you from the beginning."

'Ah, I see. Good.' Hailstone sounded relieved and embarrassed at the same time.

Still excited, the queen told Iphrita about their encounter with Ferko and how he reacted to her emotional outburst. However, to the wolves’ surprise, the scaled woman was not angry, confused, or even irritated by the news. On the contrary, Iphrita laughed. Both siblings flinched and lowered their ears - the screeching sound coming from the creature was unpleasant for them. The wolves exchanged glances. They believed they had come to know this woman over the past month, but such a reaction was beyond their understanding.

Finally, their patience was rewarded.

"Seems like my teaching hasn’t gone to waste. Haartu’s long-sealed ability to exchange thoughts has been regained." Iphrita’s calm face suddenly grimaced. The next words she said in a low voice filled with contempt. "It seems the human blood has weakened our magic."

But no matter how quietly she spoke, the wolves’ keen ears could hear her.

'What does it mean?' asked Storge. Somehow, Iphrita’s words made her feel even more anxious. 'Regained ability? And your magic? What exactly did this magic do?'

She hoped the answer would ease her worries, but she was mistaken. Iphritas’ snubbed attitude caused the queen to step back.

"Long time ago, one of the Creators sealed Haartu’s ability to speak. They were left with only gestures and pheromones, which they gained from the species they had merged with."

Storge knew who the Creators were already. Her teacher had mentioned these extraordinary beings with powerful magic several times. At the time, Storge thought that these creatures must be outstanding if they were respected by Iphrit. But now, her growing curiosity and respect for the Creators was crushed like a clueless insect caught in the hooves of the flydeers. How could anyone other than humans be so full of themselves, acting as they pleased with others’ lives?

'You didn’t tell me your kind had rid the wolves of speech.'

Iphrita blinked, looking at the dishevelled she-wolf. "We can grant or take."

'No, you can’t!' Storge hissed, as if to reinforce her thoughts with the sounds she could produce. 'It’s not for you to decide how we should live.'

The scaled woman didn’t look scared or fazed by Storge’s anger. "You call them ‘wolves’, but Haartu are not the creatures you name them after. Is this not also a form of objectification?"

'We call them the same way we call all other things in the world. People didn’t merge them with other creatures just to get rid of a competitor. You did!'

Hailstone was shuffling his front feet, looking at the two. He wasn’t trying to add anything to the quarrel, but with every new word, his gold eyes were drawn more and more to his sister. Both women were focused only on each other without sparing a glance at the soldier-wolf. He was glad he hadn’t been caught in their argument until Iphrita laughed briefly.

“Aren’t you accusing me just to lift your own sense of guilt?” said the scaled woman. Her words made Storge flinch. It was a barely visible reaction that couldn’t go unnoticed by her brother. Iphrita may not have detected it, but she certainly felt some kind of hint inside the queen’s mind. “You stated how much you detested the humans, yet you kept visiting the outsiders. What? Did one of them make your mind cloudy and legs weak enough to take him as your mate?”

Her words enraged Storge. She leaped at the tree, clawing its bark and unleashing her mandibles. ‘How dare you! I have no intention of tainting wolf’s blood with human ones! You live here beside humans as well, doing nothing!’

“I don’t fear you, little one.” Iphrita closed her third eye, a gesture of absolute indifference. Despite Storge’s rage, her teacher remained calm. Then she opened her mouth, revealing her sharp teeth, and added, “And who said I had done nothing?”

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This made the queen startled at first, and then even more angry. Smacking the tree with her paw and leaving deep scratches on its bark, the she-wolf took off and ran into the grove. Her emotional outburst made Iphrita only blink twice and dive into her home.

'Wait, wait!' called out Hailstone to her.

Iphrita glanced out the shrinking window. "What? Are you going to give me a piece of your mind?"

'No.' Hailstone’s ears drooped. He looked at the grove, then at the scaled woman. 'I was just wondering if you could teach me how to share thoughts, too? Like you know, like how you taught my sister.'

The bark of the tree stopped shrinking, and Iphrita looked through the small hole, which was now the size of a human palm. She stared at the wolf ant for several long minutes, then said, "I suppose I could."

***

Iphrita’s words made Storge avoid her for days. The queen’s thoughts and feelings were in disarray. Feeling down, she wanted to visit the slope that had become a sort of shelter for her in the past months. But every time Storge caught herself harboring this desire, she would indulge in work. Both her bad mood and eagerness to take on any task frustrated the swarm.

She already knew what she was supposed to do. She asked her father how a queen could find a mate and received an answer. If there wasn’t a suitable candidate in the swarm, she had to sing. Her song would notify nearby swarms and wandering wolf soldiers and attract them. Then she could choose from several males.

It was a simple and effective method that had worked for countless generations. The nest was almost complete, and summer was nearing its end. There was no need to delay. Yet, Storge could not bring herself to start singing. The hive’s swarm was large and thriving, with strong and fine soldiers. Anyone of them could be an ideal mate. Still, like Spot, none sparked her interest. She tried to convince herself that the reason was because she had to grow too fast, and that she simply wasn’t prepared. But time wasn’t on her side. A cubless queen is of no use to the swarm.

Dejected by her situation and Iphrita’s revelation, Storge, after a week of abstinence, headed to the familiar slope at sunrise. She paused by the river, looking at her own reflection, then again near the upside-down tree with honey squirrels playing tag at its branches. Every time she sighed, thinking about going back. But when the queen finally reached the top of the slope, no one was there.

'That’s for the best,' she thought. 'I should return to the nest and sleep.'

Storge sat down near the bushes. The morning dew had already evaporated from the grass. She breathed in an air full of familiar smells. In the village below, people were cooking breakfast and feeding livestock. Storge looked at the leaves of the bush. A small caterpillar crawled on a partly eaten leaf. Its dark thick hair reminded Storge of the horsepillars she used to hunt in her birth forest. The thought of their nest, and their mother, which they had to leave behind along with her mother, clenched Storge’s heart.

'Mom, I miss you so much. I wish you could tell me what to do.' She lay down on the grass, her eyes fixed on a caterpillar. 'If only you were here with us, if you could hug me and say that everything will be alright...'

Storge, drawn in her sorrow and mourning over the memories of the past, closed her eyes. The hunt of the last night had tired her, and before she knew it, she was dozing off.

She could feel in her dream how someone was stroking her head, just like when they were all living together in their birth nest. But the feeling was too real, so she flinched and opened her eyes. Ferko was sitting beside her, gently stroking the black fur on her head and neck. When their gazes met, he smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, I woke you up. Your eyelids were shaking; I thought you were having a nightmare. Our dogs also have them sometimes."

Storge sighed and raised her head. 'I’m not a dog.'

"Yeah, I know you aren’t..." Ferko fell silent. Once again, he looked around in confusion. Then he shook his head. "I think I’m losing it lately. Living a life like this in the middle of nowhere can’t be good for anyone."

The she-wolf tried to remember what Iphrita had been teaching her. She wasn’t sure how exactly her thoughts could be transferred to humans. For now, it would be best to keep this ability a secret. Storge tried hard not to think about anything else. She stared at Ferko, hoping that focusing on one thing would help her clear her mind. But the guy took it the wrong way.

He showed his empty hands and said, "I couldn’t get any treats for you. Sorry."

She shook her head. She wasn’t hungry.

Ferko looked into her eyes. His deep blue eyes made Storge look away. Looking too long could spark ridiculous ideas in her mind.

"I know you guys are smarter than most animals, but sometimes you act so intelligent that it’s amazing," said Ferko, and glanced at the village. He patted the queen’s head again. "Someday, I’ll leave my home and go to the wall. There, I can study and be a part of something bigger than just this dying village. I’ll learn many things and achieve great things."

'Are you really going to leave?' Storge laid her head on her paws. Ferko’s hand was stroking her forehead and gently scratching the back of her ears. His frank words made her mood worse again. But she would never admit it.

They both kept silent, looking at the houses at the foot of the slope. A pair of young people sneaked behind the wall closest to them. Even from a distance, Storge could hear their whispers and the girl’s giggling. The queen was about to turn away when the humans embraced each other. This was a gesture that reminded her of her own mother. But it was different this time. The couple pressed their lips together. The guy’s hands stroked the girl’s back, then moved down to her chest...

Storge’s vision was blocked by the palm. She recoiled and glanced at Ferko, discontent with his gesture. His cheeks were red, and his eyes were looking at the ground.

"Don’t stare like that, seriously…"

His sudden shyness and embarrassment caused a funny feeling to arise in Storge’s heart. For a moment, she wanted to tease him slightly. This kind of reaction to the couple’s actions... 'Is it a mating ritual for humans?'

But before the queen could think of an idea of how to play a joke on the guy, a scream tore through the morning air.

"Ferko!"

Storge winced at this shout, full of anger. She wasn’t the only one affected by this loud noise - the couple rushed away. Ferko jumped to his feet and whispered to her, "Hide. Go back to the grove."

A middle-aged man with auburn hair stomped towards him. His scent was similar to Ferko’s. Storge hid in the bushes. She would be wise to just return to the grove, as Ferko had told her. But she was still there, watching the scene. Despite the family connection between humans, she felt anxious.

And her reluctance to leave paid off. The man raised his hand and slapped Ferko on the back of the head. Storge frowned. The man nagged about work and accused his son of slacking off. Some words were unfamiliar to her, but the queen grasped the meaning. Neither the accusations nor the way the man grabbed Ferko by the neck and dragged him away from the slope made her feel gloat or pleasure. On the contrary, she was tempted to rush out of her shelter and frighten the man away.

Storge stood up and wandered off to the nest. She was the queen, and there was no place in her life for these feelings towards humans.